[Nfbf-l] Memorial day!

[Kirk]

Thought I would pass this along as I found it quite sobering for what this 
day truly is about. Sometimes we all need to step back and realize all the 
soldiers and sailors that died for our freedoms and this is why we take a 
day off to give them their dues! Thanks to them all! KH
Thanksgiving is a day when we pause to give thanks for the things we
have.

Memorial Day is a day when we pause to give thanks for the people who
fought for the things we have.

Memorial Day is on the last Monday in May and honors those
men and women who lost their lives serving their country.
What we celebrate as Memorial Day today began at the end of
the Civil War. Family members of the many soldiers slain in battle would
visit the grave sites of their fallen relatives or friends and decorate
the graves with flowers.

On May 5, 1868, General John Logan proclaimed this day a holiday through
his General Order No. 11. The day was entitled Decoration Day and was
first observed on May 30, 1868. The northern states celebrated this day
every year, but the southern states celebrated a day similar to this on
a different day until sometime after World War I.

In 1882, the name Decoration Day was changed to Memorial
Day, and in 1971, Memorial Day was declared a national
holiday to be held on the last Monday of May every year.
Over the years it has come to serve as a day to remember all U.S. men
and women killed or missing in action in all wars.

I am truly grateful for the freedoms which we enjoy today.
Too often, we take these gifts for granted, little realizing the
sacrifice which was involved in ensuring that these freedoms continue to
be a part of all of our lives. Be honest, how many of us think of
Memorial Day as just another chance for a three-day weekend? A chance to
go the lakes or beaches or mountains? A trip to Disneyland or Six Flags
or some other amusement park?

If you are here in the United States, please remember to display the
flag, not just for the day but for the whole weekend. Let's not forget
the real reason for having this holiday. The quote below says it all.
Please take the time to read it.

"It is, in a way, an odd thing to honor those who died in defense of our
country in wars far away. The imagination plays a trick. We see these
soldiers in our mind as old and wise. We see them as something like the
Founding Fathers, grave and gray-haired. But most of them were boys when
they died, they gave up two lives -- the one they were living and the
one they would have lived. When they died, they gave up their chance to
be husbands and fathers and grandfathers. They gave up their chance to
be revered old men. They gave up everything for their county, for us.
All we can do is remember." -- Ronald Wilson Reagan, Remarks at
Veteran's Day ceremony, Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington,
Virginia, November 11, 1985

Kirk Harmon
President & CEO
Florida Disabled Citizens
for Progress
P.O.Box 61794
Jacksonville, FL 32236
Call  our Toll  Free number: 1-888-955-fdcp
PH(904) 783-9896
Cell: (407) 473-2176
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Help" Every little bit You can help will help many!  We at the FDCP,Inc. 
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